Udaipur and Mysore are former princely states where I stayed in what used to be royal palaces. These rulers retained their palaces, but lost political power when India became independent. Thus, palaces became tourist hotels to help with the royal cash flow, once government support was lost. Above is the Udaipur Lake Palace Hotel, my hotel for one night. There may be nothing else like it. The ruler, (called a Maharana), built the palace in 1754, and apparently then built the lake to surround his palace.

The current Maharana has retained several other palaces, including the City Palace, whose balcony is shown above.

Udaipur loves a parade. The elephant on the left is all dressed up to be part of a wedding procession. In Udaipur my video shows the wedding parade, plus an elephant walking the streets along with many other vehicles and animals.

In Mysore, this remains the Maharaja's Palace, built in 1907. My hotel was elsewhere, the Lalitha Mahal Palace. I'm sure it was hard for the Maharaja to decide which of his palaces would become hotels. But the main palace above offers a surprise, as crowds gather at dusk.

The Maharaja of Mysore lights his palace, creating a scene worthy of Disneyland, India style.